8th anniversary of the Marmara earthquake in Turkey

Today is the 8th anniversary of the Marmara earthquake in northwestern Turkey.  According to official records more than 17,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

I first came to Turkey to work with a disaster relief agency responding to this earthquake.  I worked for 9 months as a finance manager as the agency built three camps of trailer homes for about 5,000 people.  Our project was a drop in the bucket, but I saw how all the time, money, and hard work made a difference.

Eight years later I’ve watched reports on TV about some people still living in those prefab houses, many still jobless.  Seems like too long to me.

Anyone care to wager how much longer people will be living in FEMA trailers in New Orleans?